


Oh Deer

by Phoenix_Is_Rising



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:40:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27982452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenix_Is_Rising/pseuds/Phoenix_Is_Rising
Summary: You live at the edge of the Nara forest and those deer keep ruining your garden! You storm all the way to the Leaf Village to petition the Nara clan for help. Unfortunately, you get stuck talking to a particularlylazyyoung ninja.
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru & Reader, Nara Shikamaru/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 81





	1. Chapter 1

You huffed, hands over your hips as you loomed over your garden. Well, right now it wasn’t much of a garden. It was that time of the year where you poured your heart and soul into your planting, only to have it destroyed. You bought seeds before the season even began, raising those little seeds into seedlings. For a while, you watched the sprouts grow from behind the overkill of a fence you put up, only to wake up this morning to see that _they_ came in the night.

Your little house was tucked a ways away from the village at the edge of the Nara forest. You had met a few members of the Nara clan, though neither memorably nor recently. But the Nara clan wasn’t who you quarreled with, it was the damn deer. The Nara forest was filled with them and were a protected species. No killing them and no scaring them away. So every night, they came in and ravaged your garden.

Arms crossed, you examined your fence which was easily twice your height. The wood became different colors over time as you added more to it each year. There wasn’t much more that you could do to fortify your vegetables. You briefly considered a moat before dismissing the idea as ridiculous. You went over to your potted flowers. They were damaged. Most of their petals were torn, but with proper care the plant could heal. You took up a particularly damaged one to take inside.

You observed your kitchen counter. Too many damaged plants. You turned to the kitchen table. Too many potted plants. You spotted a free space tucked in the corner by the window. You cradled your damaged baby as you made your way over. You nearly tripped for even your floor was covered in various plants. You’ve had enough of the Nara’s and their stupid hungry deer!

You didn’t even bother changing out of your gardening clothes, you just headed straight to the Nara estate. It was a trek, but eventually you made it. Stepping through the gate you saw a young man laying back on the engawa. Your eyes locked onto the Nara clan symbol on his sleeve and you decided in an instant that you were going to tear him a new one. Fired up from your destroyed garden, you stormed up to him in a rage.

“Excuse me,” you snapped, “I need to talk to one of you Naras.” The young man let a hand slide down his face, eyes not yet open as he let out a quiet string of curses.

“Can’t you see I’m busy?” he yawned.

“Sorry to be disturbing your nap,” You barked, gritting your teeth. The man continued to lounge even as you stood over him. “But I need to talk to someone about your deer.”

He cracked an eyelid. “The…deer.” He pronounced slowly, looking at you with mild amusement. You grumbled.

“Yes, the deer.” You folded your arms. “They keep ruining my garden!”

“And what is it that you want me to do? They’re _deer_.” You tapped your foot rapidly.

“You’re the Nara clan, you’re in charge of the deer.” You pouted. He shifted laxly, stretching his arms above his head.

“Are we now?” Your blood boiled.

“The forest is named after your clan!” you hissed, “Members of your clan are the only ones allowed in it!”

“Get a fence.”

“I did.”

He put his hands behind his head, looking at you lazily. “Maybe don’t plant a garden?”

“Maybe feed your animals better.” You huffed. “Is there someone more useful I can talk to?”

“No.” he drawled, finally getting up. He stood taller than yourself, hair in a messy bun and half lidded, tired eyes. He leaned down until you were face to face. If you weren’t so angry, you would have blushed. 

He gave an amused chuckle before he turned. He slid the shōji, giving you one last tired but entertained look before disappearing into the house. It appears that you won’t get this sorted out any time soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a one shot, but NO, I can’t not make a series. I was going to stop here, but no I have to fend off ideas to make this longer. If I have some good ideas I might, might continue. I just had to fall in love with Shikamaru. I really hated the first chapter of this so I hate that I can’t stop writing for this prompt. Enjoy.

You tossed another handful of acorns into your basket and leaned against the large oak that sat on the far side of your residence. Your chest rose, then deflated with a swift breath. Hopefully, you can start expanding your garden. 

You took your basket to the large pot, filled to the brim with acorns. The nuts from your basket poured on top, cascading down the large pile. You stepped on the paddle of the gardening hoe that leaned against the pot. The momentum sprang it into your hand and you set off to till a new area of soil. The garden hoe heaved the soil, marking out a nice new square. Your arms burned as you worked the ground until you looked up and noticed that it was getting dark. With only a small sector more, you pushed on even as the grey evening hue enveloped the sky. You were just wiping your brow when you saw movement in your peripheral. A large stag wandered out of the forest. You froze where you were, unsure of what to do. The stag looked deep into your eyes. _Please don’t go chewing on my garden._

The deer pulled away, wandering over to the large pot of acorns. You leaned, hands grasping the handle of your gardening tool. You looked at the deer as it grazed on the tree nuts. Your brows furrowed. When it seemed to have it’s fill, the stag looked back at you, bowing slightly before retreating back into the forest. 

You had intended to dispose of the excessive amount of acorns, but you opted to keep filling the pot. With much struggle, you managed to move it farther from your garden to a little pedestal made from medium sized stones. And every night, the deer came to eat leaving your garden untouched. You added more pots as the deer seemed to multiply and the oak in your property was not enough anymore. Walks to collect acorns became a large part of your day and in no time, you began to move the damaged plants from your home back outside. 

It was approaching midday and the deer came to feed early. The sky was overcast above. You looked at the clouds. It was going to rain soon. You approached the animals with your basket. They sniffed you, following you to the giant pots as they headbutted you gently. You added the contents of the basket, letting the last few fall into your hand. The deer from the first night, which you decided to call Rikumaru, came towards you. He let you pet his head as you fed him acorns from your palm. 

“So this is where they go everyday.” You jumped at the voice, startling the deer around you. Rikumaru’s head snapped up, positioning his upper body closely in front of you. The initial shock melted into annoyance.

“Oh, it’s you.” You took a breath before turning away. The Nara clan member from before stood at the end of the forest. His hands buried themselves deep in his pockets. You turned, making your way over to the house, you hung your basket up by your door. Rikumaru followed you. You didn’t look back at the young ninja. Wordlessly, you took a wafer out of your apron. The stag munched on it happily.

“They really seem to take a liking to you, no wonder they haven’t been eating from me.” He mused, strolling over to your flower pot set-up. 

“No thanks to you, Nara. I _did_ ask for your help...” You placed a hand on your hip.

“Shikamaru.” You let out a huff. 

“That’s fitting.” You heard him mutter under his breath. 

“The walk here almost killed me and that’s all you gotta say?” Shikamaru complained, interlocking his hands behind his head lazily.

“A little hard work and I solved my own problem.” You placed the other hand on your hips, “You’re a very lazy man, aren’t you?”

“Troublesome woman.” He clapped back. Rikumaru headbutted you gently. You took out another wafer. Shikamaru blinked. “I have never seen them take such a liking to an outsider.”

“Well, maybe if you rolled your sleeves up more often and fed your animals better, they’d like you more.” You shot back with the words from your last conversation with a casual shrug. 

“Not _my animals._ ” You felt a splash against your cheek. The deer began to gather back in the forest. Another splash against your nose. Rikumaru pushed past you, knocking you toward Shikamaru. 

“Well, as much as I enjoyed this chat, I’ll be going now.” You turned towards your small house.

“Ah man,” Shikamaru sighed to himself, “I have to walk all the way back in the rain?” You turned back to him, genuine concern on your features.

“Are you asking for something?” Shikamaru cocked a brow. 

“No.” He shifted his gaze from you to the sky. Thunder cracked in the distance. “Great…” Your hand met your face with a deep exhale. 

“C’mon,” you sighed, motioning him towards your house. He only responded with a questioning hum.

“Wait out the rain inside, you drama queen.” He gave you a skeptical look. You opened the back door, hand extended. Lightning flashed and Shikamaru trudged inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope that this is actually the end and I don’t get the infamous Thing-Winged-Series-Bug that always seems to envelop me. This was supposed to be a one-shot but you know how it be.

Ino was standing at the counter of the Yamanaka flower shop and flipping through a magazine when Shikamaru walked in. She perked up upon seeing her teammate before a puzzled look overcame her features.

“Is there a training session I forgot about?” she asked, flipping through the calendar taped down in front of the register.

“No,” Shikamaru shifted his gaze towards the floor. “I, uh, was… looking for some flowers.” He groaned as he saw the sly grin that enveloped her lips.

“Oo!” Ino crooned and Shikamaru immediately slid a hand over his face.

“I made a mistake,” he complained, turning back to the door. Ino rushed over, looping an arm around his.

“No, no, no, no Shika-kun, let me help you! So what are we looking for?” Shikamaru huffed to himself, allowing himself to be led off into the shop. She stopped at a rack of multicolored bouquets. “What about these?” Ino shoves three different bundles of flowers in Shikamaru’s face. He avoids her eyes, overwhelmed. Sweat beaded on his temple.

“Eh, uh I was thinking something with more dirt.”

“Dirt?” Ino lowered the bouquets, cocking an eyebrow. “Are you talking about potted flowers?”

Shikamaru scratched his head. He felt out of his element and that was not something he could ever get used to. Afterall, he always made it a point to be ten steps ahead of everyone, to be the smartest in the room. But he looked down at the flowers and quickly admitted that he had no idea what to do. Ino had run this shop for her whole life, she easily recognized the lost expression Shikamaru wore. She rolled her eyes, tugging on his shirt sleeve.

“C’mon.” She sighed, dragging him to another section of the shop. Shikamaru looked down the rows of potted flowers decorated cutely with colorful bows. Ino waited as her teammate gingerly approached one. Picking it up, he poked at the flower petals.

“I’ll take this one I guess…” he rasped.

“You guess?” Ino reiterated. Shikamaru looked back at the bundled flowers.

“Yeah, I think she’ll like this one.” Shikamaru, too distracted by his gift, failed to notice the smile creeping back onto Ino’s face. She giggled to herself and Shikamaru finally noticed what he shouldn’t have said.

“Oooh, so there is a she, huh? Who is it Shika-kun? C’mon you gotta tell me. I’ve been stuck in this shop all day and this is the only interesting thing that’s happened!”

Shikamaru trudged to the counter. Pulling out his wallet, he put a few ryō on the counter.

“You wouldn’t know her.” But that didn’t put an end to Ino’s prodding.

“You should bring her by sometime!” Ino waved to her teammate as he exited her shop.

***

You were just finishing planting vegetables in your new plot when you caught sight of him coming from the forest. Shikamaru walked past the dining deer, one hand in his pocket and the other held a rather effeminate potted plant. Sauntering up to you, Shikamaru handed the flowers to you.

“Here.” He told you promptly.

“Is this for me?” You asked, inspecting the item in your gardening gloves.

“I handed it to you, didn’t I?” Shikamaru moved past you, looking at your newly planted garden. He was silent for a moment. “You have too many vegetables. Like jeez, how many vegetables can one person eat?”

You opened your mouth before closing it again. You pursed your lips. “You walked all the way out here to insult my plants and to give me this… very girly plant?” Shikamaru scoffed.

“What? Are you not going to plant it?” He quickly snapped. You looked at him, then the flowers.

“Well no-”

“So much for all the trouble I went though…” You raised a brow, clearing your throat in expectation. Shikamaru faltered. “I-uh… I mean why not?”

“Well I would like to see it.” Shikamaru blinked. Huh? You approached the open window to your kitchen, placing the flowers right on the sill. You stretched out you arms in a dramatic fashion to show off the humble potted plant. “I want to put it where I know I’ll see it every day. Thank you for the gift.” Shikamaru blinked again.

“You’re welcome.” He wanted to say more. You returned to your garden. You made your way to the pile of short fencing which laid in a pile.

“You look like you have something on your mind, Shikamaru.” You plucked a piece up and began to hammer it down. “Is there something that you wanted to talk about?”

You leaned against the small pole, your hand enveloping the knob. He never wanted anything to do with manual labor. Too much effort. But Shikamaru found himself staring. He took in your messy hair and the dirt on your face. You brushed a stray strand of hair back behind your ear and in that instant, Shikamaru decided he’d like to surround you with as many flowers as he could.

“Um… did you want a hand?” You scratched his head. You looked at him with amused eyes.

“Nice dodging my question,” You laughed and he silently hoped that you couldn’t tell just how out of it he was. “Grab a hammer.” Shikamaru physically restrained himself from burying his face in his hands.

You could tell that Shikamaru wasn’t well acquainted with working with tools by the number of times he hit his fingers. Each time it happened, he let out a hum, looking towards the sky as he tried to shake it off. You could see the frustration in him rising like mercury in a thermometer. You giggled to yourself, wiping sweat from your forehead. During the time he had hammered down three posts, you had finished the rest of the fence.

“Let me get you a glass of water.” Shikamaru let out an exasperated sigh as you left. He slumped down. You came out of your house with the glass and he humbly accepted it. You sat down with him.

“Do you ever just like to sit and watch the clouds?” You asked, looking up above you. Usually, Shikamaru would have already been wordlessly doing just that, but once again he couldn’t help but stare.

“Yeah,” Shikamaru answered simply and slowly. “I do.” You cracked a smile. Grabbing his sleeve, you tugged him down to lay with you.

“There’s a good view from here. Sometimes when I’m tired from gardening, you know, like today, I’ll just lay down here.” Shikamaru took in how you looked in wonder at the view. He spoke your name.

“I’d like to give you permission to enter the Nara forest.” You craned your head to face him.

“What?” Shikamaru got lost in the slow batting of your eyes.

“The deer seem to like you and you take good care of them.” Shikamaru turned back to the clouds. His hand came to brush against yours.

“The deer seem to like me?”

You accepted his hand into yours.

“Yeah… the deer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left kudos, comments, bookmarks and subscribed. Your support means so much and is greatly appreciated.


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